Doc Holliday and Denison, Texas

                                                          Doctor John Henry Holliday 

Denison was founded in 1872 in conjunction with the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (MKT) or "Katy" depot. It was named after the wealthy Katy vice president George Denison. Because the town was established at the intersection of the MKT and the Red River (both important conduits of transportation in the industrial era), it came to be an important commercial center in the 19th century American West. In 1875, Doc Holliday, the notorious gunfighter, had his dental offices on Main Street  in Denison. When approached about a killing in Dallas, Holliday suddenly relocated to Colorado.

During the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-19th century, which destroyed the vast majority of wine grapes in Europe, Denison horticulturalist T.V. Munson pioneered methods in creating phylloxera resistant vines, and earned induction into the French Legion of Honor, as well as sister city status for Denison with Cognac, France.

In 1901 the first electric "Interurban" railway in Texas, the Denison and Sherman Railway, was completed between Denison and Sherman, Texas. 

In 1915, the Kentucky-based evangelist Mordecai Ham held a revival meeting in Denison, which resulted in 1,100 professions of faith in Jesus Christ.

Denison played host to 20th century notables such as the Marx Brothers and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison.

1929 Ford Model A

        By now you may have noticed that I am an old car fanatic... I grew up in the garage of my older brother and he was always in some stage of restoring or remodeling an old car..
     As I was driving down Main Street in Denison yesterday I spotted something different in one of the store fronts.. There was a gorgeous Ford Model A right in the front window..  Naturally, I had to investigate..

      It is a coupe with a cabriolet top, and in my estimation, in perfect condition. Most autos from this era came in black, but for a little extra ($) you could have it painted any color you desired. This one is a light tan color with black fenders. My first question was: How did they get it in the store since the front door was rather inadequate. 

      The saleslady said she didn't know for sure, but thought they brought it in through the back door and rolled it to the front on rollers. Check out the oogah horn below the left headlight. I also noted the gravel screen over the radiator. My dad use to tell me about being broke down because of some rock being thrown through the radiator.
    

       The interior of the car is exceptionally clean and, despite the 'No Touch' sign, I opened the passenger side door to get this shot. All of the pedals and controls are in their original position and the dash is exactly as Henry Ford planned 87 years ago. That white button on the steering column is the horn,...and I feel safe in telling you the red knob on the gear shift lever is NOT original.

      The rear of the coupe shows off a lot of items that were not standard for the day. I am pretty sure the Model A's only came with one tail light, where this one has two. Those original wire wheels are a costly item if purchased alone, and here you have five of them. They are getting harder and harder to find if you are looking to restore one of your own. Another accessory is the steps on the right side bumper and at the top of the right fender...

      The steps allow for easy access to the rumble seat. I have spent many an evening riding in a rumble seat while my older brother had a date up front. This one is in great shape and has obviously been reupholstered. Usually you can find chips and flaws around the edges of the trunk and doors, but this one shows the owner took a lot of pride in finishing a great looking coupe.

      They tried to give off a Bonnie and Clyde impression as the mannequin standing next to the coupe held a rifle in her hands. Actually, Bonnie and Clyde went on their bank robbing spree in the mid 1930's.
     Despite the inspection sticker showing 1997 as the last time the coupe was registered and inspected, the saleslady said it does run. The owner has driven it in numerous parades in the local area. The car has an engine (4 cylinder) and transmission in it and everything looks pristine.... so naturally I asked if the car was For Sale. She said it was and they have a asking price of eleven thousand and five hundred dollars ($11,500). I thought it was a great price for a Model A of this condition, but I am long past the age of acquiring another hot rod.
     I thought there might be another car crazy nut in the market for a super Model A. If you are that nut,.. the car is located at Main Street Mall, 500 West Main Street in Denison, Texas 75020. They have an email address of: mainstreetmalldenison@Yahoo.com.
Their phone number is (903) 463-1230... ask for Jay Connelly or Cindy Sheehan. 
    Who knows... This could be your Model A Coupe very soon.

1950 Chevrolet Deluxe

         I have a friend that has one of the 'cleanest' 1950 Chevrolets I have seen in a long time. He enters it in local car shows and it never fails to attract a crowd of car lovers,... and all this despite the car being absolutely stock. It is just like the day it rolled off the assembly line...

     This is the way it looked in 2010 in the Octoberfest parade of older cars. In 1950 probably over 90% of the entire line of Chevrolets were available in black, but for a little extra you could order one in a different color. This is a nice shade of green and the only thing I see that did not come from the factory is the chrome extension on the exhaust pipe and the license plate bracket.

       Under the hood we find 216 cubic inches of Chevy Blue Flame power.... An inline 6-cylinder engine. As you can see, the owner has replaced the original carburetor and installed an oil filter. In 1950 this choice Chevy did not come with an oil filter. I find that totally unbelievable in this day and age.

       I too had a '50 Chevrolet back in my high school days, but where this one is a 2-door sedan, my old Chevy was a business coupe.

      The business coupe was also called 'a salesmans car' because it came from the factory without a back seat. This allowed the salesman to carry his sample cases and display items in the car's interior. I found a back seat in a wrecking yard and installed it just before having the entire interior redone in black Naugahyde. 

    

 
        My brother helped me install a 283 cubic inch Chevy V8 engine in my '50 and I used the 3-speed transmission from the donor car in my coupe. The steering wheel came from a 1958 Chevy.

          My friends interior shows how this car came from the factory. I thought he had the horsehair seats and door panels replaced, but he maintains this is the original interior. Needless to say, the car has never spent a night outside of his garage. Looking at the above photo, I am reminded of a 1947 Chevy that I owned, and it had the foot starter on the floor. It was located just to the right of the accelerator pedal. Many a time on date nights my girlfriend would accidentally step on that starter pedal and sparks would fly under the car.

      The 1949 and 1950 Chevys shared a similar look and both have always been favorites of mine. They presented a very clean and distinct look.. and maybe that is why they have been so popular with car enthusiasts. 

Dallas Cowboys All-Time Best Quarterback ?

          This is a subject that definitely will have fans voicing opposition no matter what order the QB's are placed. It was Abraham Lincoln who once said, "You can't please all the people all the time." Today's topic surely comes under that catagory.
      The Dallas Morning News had this as one of their stories today and all of the following photos come from their website. My thanks go out to them for inspiring this posting..
     Let me say from the beginning for those that have not been exposed to my blog page previously,..I am a die-hard Dallas Cowboy fan dating back to 1959 when they first acquired a franchise from the National Football League..

        The Cowboys have had an abundance of players manning the quarterback spot over the years, but this posting will deal with the starting QB's and the players most associated with being the man at the controls for Dallas through the years.. In the photo above are five who fit that definition.. From the left: Don Meredith, Craig Morton, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, and Danny White.
       It's hard to find a place to start when you do story such as this...so why don't we just start at the beginning?

      
      In 1960 both Dallas and Minnesota were awarded franchises in the NFL and both had the option of playing the 1960 season, OR waiting for 1961 and going through the college draft. The Vikings decided to wait for 1961, but Dallas chose to play immediately. Their first roster was made up of castoffs from the other teams. A trade with the Washington Redskins brought quarterback Eddie LeBaron (above) to Dallas. He led the Cowboys from 1960 until 1963 when he retired. Dallas did not win a single game in 1960, going 0-11-1,..only a late season tie with the New York Giants brought the Cowboys their only non-loss.

        In the above photo #17 Don Meredith confers with Head Coach Tom Landry on the sidelines. Meredith actually was signed by Dallas before they even had a team, agreeing to a personal service contract with owner Clint Murchison. Meredith was with the Cowboys from 1960 to 1968, leading Dallas to the NFL Championship game with Green Bay in 1966 and 1967. He went to the Pro Bowl on 3 occasions and was the NFL's Player of the Year in 1966. Retiring from football early, Meredith went into movies and later became a fixture on Monday Night Football telecasts. Meredith's departure suddenly dropped the QB mantle on Craig Morton.

       Morton was a better QB for Dallas than most fans will remember. He was not as charismatic as Meredith but had a quick wit and a strong arm. Morton was a Cowboy from 1965 to 1974 when he was traded to the New York Giants. He led Dallas to their first ever Super Bowl game, a last second loss to the Baltimore Colts. You see his successor just over his shoulder in the above photo.... A player still revered in Dallas,...Captain Comeback!

        Following the sudden retirement of Meredith and the trade of Craig Morton, Roger Staubach was the Dallas quarterback from 1969 until 1979. He led the Cowboys to four Super Bowls (winning twice), played in 6 Pro Bowl Games, and was named to the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. In the above photo, Roger prepares to throw the famous 'Hail Mary' pass to Drew Pearson to eliminate the Vikings from the 1975 NFL Playoffs.
     

        Danny White followed Staubach as the QB of America's Team, a title put on the team by ABC Sport's Roone Arledge. Whenever there was a question of which game to show on Monday Night Football, he piped up with 'show the Cowboys...everyone in America loves them.'
       Danny White played for Dallas from 1976 to 1988.. Leading the team to the NFC Championship Game in 1980, 1981, and 1982. His overall record with the Cowboys ended with 62 wins and 32 losses.

      Troy Aikman was the number one pick in the 1989 college draft out of U.C.L.A. The Cowboys had the number one pick based on their lousy season in 1988....but Aikman would be joined by Emmit Smith, Michael Irving, and other great players to dominate the 1990's. Aikman was instrumental in leading Dallas to three Super Bowl victories, and he was voted to 6 Pro Bowls. He is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame along with Smith and Irvin.
     Aikman was forced to retire due to a series of concussions and that left Dallas to go through a series of QBs like Steve Pelluer, Vinny Testaverde, Quincy Carter, and Drew Bledsoe.
     Bledsoe was beat out at quarterback in New England by Tom Brady and was sent to Dallas in a trade. He was the starter for the 2005 and 2006 season, but a lackluster performance by Bledsoe brings us to the next QB.

     Tony Romo came to the Cowboys as a free agent that no other team in the NFL wanted in the college draft. He joined the Cowboys in 2004 after an invitation by then Head Coach Bill Parcels. Romo has been named to the Pro Bowl 4 times and is currently the franchise leader in passing yardage, and also touchdowns thrown. The knock on Romo is 'he can't win the big games.' He also has suffered an injury at the most inopportune times, leaving the team with a poor backup to take his place.
    Thanks to a 4-12 season in 2015, the Dallas Cowboys have the fourth selection in April's college draft. Three quality quarterbacks are expected to go in the first round of the draft and one of these could be headed for Dallas. With Romo expected to have one or two good seasons left in him, it might be time for Dallas to look to the future for their next quarterback.

        All photos from the Dallas Morning News.....

U.I.L. Realignment for District 5 AAAAA in Texas

The University Inter-Scholastic League (UIL),..that august body that oversees all extra-curricular activities in the state of Texas,.. has shaken up its current make-up of school schedules for the school years of 2016 and 2017. Sherman and Denison are both members of District 5 in the 5A level of competition. This is the way the new district will look for the next couple of years.

              District 5 AAAAA
1. Denison
2. Denton
3. Denton Braswell
4. Denton Ryan
5. Sherman
6. Wichita Falls
7. Wichita Falls Rider

       This realignment covers all sports and not just football on Friday nights. It is over 100 miles from Denison to Wichita Falls, and that means student-athletes will be traveling on school nights to basketball, volleyball, and baseball games. I foresee them getting home somewhere between 1 and 2 in the morning on a school day.
Now coaches are scrambling to find non-district games to fill out the ten game schedule around those new district members.
   

Motorcycle Accident in 2007

     It's one of those moments in time that you just can't forget and move on with life. To this day I have flashbacks when I travel the same intersection. It probably was the closest I have ever come to death and maybe that is the cause of the permanent mark on my memory bank...
     It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I had spent a couple hours in my garage changing the oil and filter on my custom 1999 Harley-Davidson Nightrain.. Previous postings on the bike will show you what a show-stopper it was.. It was a beauty wrapped in glossy black and lots of chrome...I couldn't take it anywhere without it becoming the center of attention.

         I finished the oil change and cranked it to warm up the engine and also to check underneath for any leaks. I opened the door to the house and told my wife I was headed for the service station to fill up with gasoline so the Nightrain would be ready to carry me to work the next day. I wiped my hands with a Harley-Davidson bandana and thought to myself,.'the service station is only four blocks away,...I don't need no stinkin' helmet.'  With that thought ringing in my head, I tied the bandana around my sweaty brow and eased the Nightrain down the drive-way and onto the city street.

        
       Man,...those Screamin' Eagle pipes sounded good as the old Evolution engine revved up and I shifted into second gear. I never get out of fourth gear in the city limits as I refuse to be one of those knuckle-heads that allow their bikes to lug down and chatter the valves.
    I stopped at the stop sign on Morton Street and allowed a couple of cars to go by before I joined the traffic flow heading west. Two blocks and I would be at the Chevron Station and safe from the crazies they allow to drive cars these days... I never made it!

   Pottsboro Road intersects Morton Street at the same time as Layne Drive joins them both. The car in front of me turned into the Comet Cleaners just before the intersection and I slowed to allow him time to make the turn. I had just down shifted to second when I spotted a Ford Taurus coming from Layne Drive....and it was coming pretty fast. I moved to my left and got into the inside lane of Morton Street,..but the Taurus kept coming. My brain flashed me an instant message..'gas on this puppy and get through the intersection.' I twisted the throttle and the modified engine jumped at the chance to be free of the city confines. Still, the Taurus struck my Nightrain on the rear wheel and sent me spinning on the left side of my bike. The Lord saved me from the impact and pain as suddenly everything went black....

          
       I remember a woman's voice screaming and me being jostled around. A fire station was two blocks away and the paramedics were on the scene within sixty seconds. A scrub nurse by the name of Hawkeye was the first person I saw when I opened my eyes.. He told me I had been in an accident and they were going to take good care of me. I had no memory of what happened and could not understand what was going on. The staff at Texoma Medical Center reacted professionally and with great speed. I looked down and a female nurse had a pair of electric scissors and was cutting my blue jeans down the front of both legs to expedite their removal. When she finished with the jeans she headed for my tee-shirt... Whoa! I pleaded with her as it was a brand new Kevin Harvick shirt I had on for the first time..

      She granted me that favor and cut it off by going down the side under my arm and across the shoulders. You can see the blood on the front of the shirt and on the jeans. One of the paramedics had gone thru my wallet and found my home address and called my wife to notify her I was at the hospital.
      

I had road rash on all four limbs, a dislocated shoulder, a cracked skull, concussion, and two teeth knocked out by the pavement when I hit the concrete. I also received seventeen stitches above the left eye where my mirror stem stabbed me. Doctor Buckner told me if I had been going just a little faster the stem would have taken my eye out, and if I had been going a little slower it would have struck me in the temple and turned out the lights permanently.                  

The paramedics stayed with me to relay the story back to my wife and me. The Ford Taurus actually had run two (2) stops signs to hit me, and luckily the car behind her was a police officer on his way to work. He turned out to be the perfect eye witness (he too was a Harley rider). Another man who witnessed the accident was just exiting the Comet Cleaners and was one of the first to reach me. He got the woman driver to stop screaming and also used a pillow case to wrap my head in an attempt to stop the blood flow. Paramedics changed the bandage when they arrived and said it was squirting pretty good. I had to spend most of the day at the hospital, but was allowed to come home that night. The very next day the insurance agent of the Ford Taurus came by my house to see the damage to me and let me know his policyholder was at fault and they would cover all expenses.                                                                                           

My wife was my nursemaid for the next week, along with our Fox Terrier Tinkerbelle. It took about four or five days for my left eye to open again, but my dentist told me I had to wait six months for the swelling in my mouth to go down before he could install new teeth. So much for me,..but what about my Nightrain?                  

My thanks also go out to my buddy Mike Putman,..he dropped everything at his Cycle Shop to get to my bike before the city wrecker could damage it even more. His shop, along with Harley-Davidson, repaired my bike back to showroom condition. The bike won a couple of shows after the accident, and my new teeth work great... so I guess all's well that ends well.                                      

This was taken one week to the day after the accident. I also owned a Honda Magna and I rode it to the bike shop to see how the Nightrain was coming along. Both of us fared as well as could be expected, and now Momma won't let me leave the house without my helmet...  She also wrote to Kevin Harvick and told him about the accident and how hospital officials had to cut off my shirt.

Harvick sent me a new shirt and an autographed cap as a replacement...

... and Momma made a pillow out of the old shirt and jeans from the accident....

Thank you Lord for watching over me.

Dallas Cowboys QB Decision for 2016

   The 2015 regular season of the National Football League has come to an end and some teams are headed for the playoffs in pursuit of the ultimate...a Super Bowl Championship.

   Others are already hard at work preparing for the April college draft in hopes of improving their team for 2016. Such is where we find the Dallas Cowboys ! A season that saw Dallas win only four
of the sixteen games on the schedule rewards them with the fourth overall pick in the college draft...

And that brings us to the crux of today's post.. What will Dallas do with that lofty selection? The multiple injuries to the Cowboys will explain some of the pain of the 2015 season, but team owner, general manager, and Grand Poobah Jerry Jones is already on record saying he expects quarterback Tony Romo to play another four or five years. Romo, who will turn 36 years old this year, has a history of injuries that reads like the Magna Carta in length. Twice he went down this season with a broken collarbone on his non-throwing shoulder, and this was in addition to past injury prone seasons.

      So..... I say now is the time to take advantage of that high draft pick and select a quarterback to guide the team in the future. Romo might have a season or two left in his career and could be a valuable teacher for the new quarterback. 
    The Tennessee Titans have the first pick in the college draft, but they have Marcus Mariota, who they drafted last year. The Cleveland Browns have the second pick and they could be quarterback hunting after Johnny Manziel's road show has gone south for them. San Diego's Chargers have the third pick and need defensive help, besides Philip Rivers has years ahead of him. Dallas is fourth and San Francisco has the fifth pick. Colin Kaepernick is out in the Bay Area and the 49'ers definitely will be shopping for a new quarterback. 
     There are two quarterbacks currently standing head and shoulders above the crowd in April's draft,..both juniors who have forfeited their senior seasons in order to become available for a professional career.

    PAXTON LYNCH of the University of Memphis stands six foot seven inches tall and weighs in at 245 pounds. In three years at Memphis he threw for almost nine thousand yards, fifty-nine touchdowns, and had passes intercepted on 23 occasions. 

     Despite his height, Lynch has good agility and mobility for a big man, and shows an ability to run with the ball when forced from the pocket. His passing velocity has been called excellent and sometimes looks like he is throwing a dart rather than a football, a trait sometimes applied to former Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw, and just remember how many Super Bowls they attended.

       Lynch will turn 22 years of age on Febuary 12, 2016 and despite growing up in Florida he has another factor that might make him more attractive to the Cowboys... He was born in San Antonio!

      The other quarterback under consideration for succeeding Romo is current University of California quarterback JARED GOFF.

       Goff also is a junior coming out a year early. He is six foot four inches tall and tips the scales at two hundred and ten pounds. He re-wrote the California high school record book while playing for Marin Catholic High School. He turned down offers from Boise State, Fresno State, and Stanford to play for the Golden Bears of Cal as did his Dad. Goff became the first true freshman to start at California and in three years at the helm he passed for over twelve thousand yards, 96 touchdowns and had 30 passes intercepted. He was a first team selection to the All Pac-12 Conference Team.

       In the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl game last month Goff was named the Most Valuable Player after he threw six (6) touchdown passes and accounted for 467 yards in a 55-36 win over the Air Force Academy. Goff has faced a higher caliber of competition than Lynch and that might be the deciding factor. That and the comparison to another quarterback the Cowboys took out of California back in 1989 might tip the scale in Goff's favor...

       Troy Aikman was the top pick in that draft out of U.C.L.A. and led Dallas to three Super Bowl Championships. Maybe Goff or Lynch can duplicate that kind of leadership and ability.
     It is a decision that has to be made and when April rolls around I want the Dallas ownership and coaching staffs to remember one image as they contemplate that fourth pick.

       No one plays the game forever and Tony Romo has given Dallas fans plenty of great memories over the years,...BUT it is time to plan for the post-Romo years. Dallas fans have suffered through inept back-ups this past season as each tried to fill the shoes of Romo without success.... Hello.. Why do you think other teams let them go?

     It's time to plan for the future. The competition will be looking for a weak spot on the Cowboys roster and unfortunately it will be the shoulders of Romo. Draft a quality quarterback while we can and use the remainder of the draft to find help on the defensive side of the ball. Time is not on our side but a decision has to be made. Dallas,..  You're on the clock.

Another quarterback has popped up on the radar screen of the Cowboys.... and he might be the sleeper of the entire NFL College Draft.

CARSON WENTZ has played four years at North Dakota State and as a starter, Wentz has led the Bisons to their 4th and 5th consecutive FCS National Championship. In last month's title game, North Dakota State defeated #1 seeded Jacksonville State for the championship.

 Wentz is six foot five and weighs in at 220 pounds. In the 2015 season he connected on 130 of 208 passing attempts for 17 touchdowns, and had only 4 passes intercepted. He broke his wrist back in October, but now doctors say he is fully healed. Another point in his favor is he will be playing in the Senior Bowl Game,...and his North squad will be coached by the staff of the Dallas Cowboys....so they will have a good preview of him. Dallas' coaching staff also had the same preview of DeMarcus Ware, DeMarco Murray, Zack Martin, and James Harris in the Senior Bowl and then drafted them in the April college draft.

Wentz is said to have excellent delivery on the ball and the ability to pick out secondary and third choices on passing plays. Some experts are calling him the most 'ready to play' quarterback in the draft and say he will be the first qb picked in April.